Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: Pittsburgh-Penguins

When they left home to begin a five-game trip a little more than three weeks ago, the Ducks were still very much a work in progress. Their play was as uneven and disjointed as their lineup, a patchwork quilt of skills and strengths and weaknesses.

Somewhere along the road from Tennessee to Florida to North Carolina to the District of Columbia, the Ducks discovered something about themselves. They learned how they must play in order to be competitive against any opponent and to win in any situation, at home and on the road.

On the road again for another five-game trip, the Ducks proved it again. They rallied from a two-goal deficit to take a 4-2 victory from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday at PPG Paints Arena, mixing and matching players of varying abilities and experience and dominating the game after a sluggish first period.

The Ducks (19-11-5) have won four consecutive games, nine of 10 and 11 of 13.

Evgeni Malkin has one goal, three assists and a minus-9 rating in his past nine games. He has scored one even-strength goal in his last 20 games. He was a minus-4 in Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

“Geno tends to be a streaky guy, and sometimes all it takes is one goal and then he’s off to building momentum again,” coach Mike Sullivan said optimistically. “I think part of it is just simplifying his whole overall game. If he does that, he’s going to be fine.”

What does Sullivan mean when he says Malkin needs to simplify his game?

“Slowing his skating down and supporting the breakout. Stopping on pucks. When he has an opportunity to shoot the puck, shoot the puck. Don’t look for the next play,” Sullivan said. “We think he’ll come out of it.”

Malkin’s longtime teammates came to his defense after morning skate as well.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have earned themselves an unenviable distinction in the first two months of the season.

They’re the team that struggling clubs want to play in order to get back on the right track.

The 13-11-6 record the Penguins have fashioned through 30 games is good enough to keep them in the playoff hunt in the Eastern Conference, but four of the 11 regulation losses they suffered came against teams that probably won’t sniff the postseason come April.

Here’s a look at those losses.

— Wednesday night: Chicago 6, Penguins 3

The Blackhawks came into the game on an eight-game losing streak. They played the night before in Winnipeg. They had given up the first goal in 11 straight games. The Penguins trailed most of the game anyway. Even a Bryan Rust hat trick couldn’t save the day.

Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 of the 30 shots he faced Tuesday night against Pittsburgh Penguins and shouldered the blame for the 4-3 loss after allowing a weak goal early in the third period.

With the Jets up 3-2 in the final frame, Hellebuyck failed to stop a soft wrist shot from Penguins fourth-liner Derek Grant, allowing the Penguins to tie the game 3-3 with just under 15 minutes remaining.

“That one is on me," Hellebuyck said of Grant's goal. "I’ve got to find a way to stop a weird knuckler. It just sucks because I was having a great game and the guys were playing fantastic in front of me. That one is on me.”

The goaltender was asked whether the puck was deflected on the way to the net, but refused to give an excuse for the goal.

“To be honest, I’ve got to watch video because I am in shock that thing went through,” Hellebuyck replied. “I could give you a million excuses, but that’s all they’re going to be, excuses. So I’m not going to go that route. I’m just going to take responsibility and say, that one is on me.”

Blowing a three-goal lead in the second half of the game and dropping a 5-4 overtime decision to the Buffalo Sabres constitutes progress because at least it got them one point in the standings.

Jack Eichel scored 45 seconds into overtime as the Penguins lost for the fourth time in a row and for the ninth time in their last 10 games Monday night at PPG Paints Arena. Seven of those losses came in regulation. The point gained by the overtime loss allowed the Penguins to tie New Jersey for the worst record in the Eastern Conference.

“We’re well aware of the position we’re in,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “None of us are happy with it. We’ve got a proud group. I do think we’re getting better in a lot of areas. We’re not getting the results, but we very well could have in a number of games, tonight being one of them.”

The Wings, Kings and Hawks, three of the NHL’s powerhouse teams of the past decade, all either didn’t see what was coming or preferred not to look. You could argue L.A. and Chicago are still putting off the inevitable.

The question now is whether the Pittsburgh Penguins will avoid that scenario.

As we’ve seen this week, the Pens are still very much intent on going for another Stanley Cup. General manager Jim Rutherford, 69, was rewarded with a new three-year deal, and his contract was announced simultaneously as he made a deal with the floundering Kings, sending speedy winger Carl Hagelin to L.A. and receiving struggling winger Tanner Pearson in return.

Pearson’s only 26, so he’s still theoretically moving into his prime. Maybe he’ll recapture his scoring touch as others have in Pittsburgh. He’s also got two years left on his deal at $3.75 million per (all dollars U.S.), compared to Hagelin, who is up this summer. So by making this move, Rutherford was committing even more to the win-more-now philosophy.

As of Friday, we are 285 games into a 1,271-game NHL season, but it is odd to see Pittsburgh and Los Angeles flailing away at the bottom of the Eastern and Western Conference standings respectively. The Kings and Penguins have a lot in common, beginning with the fact that since 2012, each franchise has won the Stanley Cup twice. In theory, that should count for something within their respective fan bases, but it never really seems to anymore. “What have you done for me lately?” was always a popular catch phrase in pro sports, but nowadays it seems more profoundly ingrained.

-Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic($$$) where you can read more on this plus othe topics.

NEW YORK (Nov. 16, 2018) – Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cullen has been fined $1,000 for a dangerous trip against Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Miller during NHL Game No. 279 in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Nov. 15, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 19:47 of the first period. Cullen was assessed a minor penalty for tripping.